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  • Moonlite

  • The Tragic Love Story of Captain Moonlite and the Bloody End of the Bushrangers
  • By: Garry Linnell
  • Narrated by: Ryan Corr
  • Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (53 ratings)

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Moonlite

By: Garry Linnell
Narrated by: Ryan Corr
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Publisher's Summary

Charismatic, intelligent and handsome, George Scott is unlike any other
bushranger. Born into a privileged life in famine-wracked Ireland,
Scott's family loses its fortune and is forced to flee to New Zealand.
There, Scott joins the local militia and fights as a soldier against
the Maori in the brutal New Zealand wars.

After recovering from a series of serious gunshot wounds, he sails to
Australia and becomes a Lay Preacher, captivating churchgoers with his
fiery and inspiring sermons.

But Scott is also prone to bursts of madness. The local villagers back
in Ireland often whispered that a "wild drop" ran in the blood of the
Scott family. One night he dons a mask in a small country town, arms
himself with a gun and, dubbing himself Captain Moonlite, brazenly
robs a bank before staging one of the country's most audacious
jailbreaks.

After falling in love with fellow prisoner James Nesbitt, a boyish
petty criminal desperately searching for a father figure, Scott finds
himself unable to shrug off his criminal past.

Pursued and harassed by the police, he stages a dramatic siege and
prepares for a final showdown with the law - and a macabre executioner
without a nose.

Meticulously researched and drawing on previously unpublished
material, Moonlite is a work of non-fiction that reads like a novel.

Told at a cracking pace, and based on many of the extensive letters
Scott wrote from his death cell, Moonlite is set amid the violent and
sexually-repressed era of Australia in the second half of the 19th
century.

With a cast of remarkable characters, it weaves together the
extraordinary lives of our bushrangers and the desperation of a young
nation eager to remove the stains of its convict past.

But most of all, Moonlite is a tragic love story.

For these are the dying days of the bushrangers and Captain Moonlite
is about to make his last stand.
©2020 Garry Linnell (P)2020 Penguin Random House Australia
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

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Worth it

Really interesting and well researched, particularly enjoyed Ryan Corr's perfectly paired narration, and accents for increased characterisation.

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3 people found this helpful

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Fantastically well done

I thoroughly enjoyed this Audiobook. I'll admit that Australian history is not my usual thing, so I was surprised how much this really drew me in. It's beautifully written, in parts it almost feels like an exciting novel! And of course the fascinating subject matter and cast of characters turned out to be quite gripping. Lastly I have to say the narration by Ryan Corr is just so good. Spectacular really. Not just a pleasant sounding voice, an all round perfect reading which brings things to life and takes it to an even higher level. Highly recommended in Audiobook form.

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5 people found this helpful

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Headline: Skillfully crafted and narrated

I remember my grade 3 teacher reading our class a story about Captain Moonlite. Of course, it was a child’s book, but the similarities between that children’s version and Linnell’s of the fascinating paradox that is Captain Moonlite are marked. Linnell’s impeccably researched recount of the life of George Scott is told within a broader context of that criminal era in Australia and delves into the political and social climate of the time. The first few digressions into other stories threw me, but what seemed initially to be solitary patches, albeit each beautifully crafted, came skillfully together as a complete, intricate piece. When the story is over, there is a gem proffered in the Afterword, where what Linnell has teased out throughout the course of the Moonlite story is revisited through a fascinating, condensed discourse.

Corr’s narration feels perfectly in sync with the writer’s sense of pace. He keeps the listener engaged and wanting to hear the next chapter. Moreover, his vocal characterisation of Scott adds a realism that makes the listener feel they have a personal insight into this man. Such an intricate story as this can potentially cause confusion, with its myriad of characters and locations, but Corr’s narration maintains clarity of characters and settings, so there is never any need to go back over something.

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5 people found this helpful

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Fantastic

Exceptionally written and beautifully narrated. Thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. Never dry history, wonderful bought to life. A must read 😊

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3 people found this helpful

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Moonlite is a tragic love story.

Captain Moonlite was gay and "Moonlite" is a brilliant work of non-fiction that reads like a novel.


Sep 29, 2020

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4 people found this helpful

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It took a couple of chapters

I'm so glad I hung in there! I was put off a bit by the first couple of chapters as they didn't seem to be going anywhere or describing much. But as you go further in ..... well, I feel, I was richly rewarded. I really appreciated the painstaking research and the excellent style of weaving into a coherent narrative that puts you in the story in a way that textbook accounts (of anything) can't. This is the style of history I always wanted. Ryan Corr is an expert narrator for this book. He has a lovely seamless style and expertly slips in and out of narrator and character at every change. He also has a commendable Irish lilt. If Gary Linnell's other books are this good I will keep purchasing. Please keep writing them Gary. I hope we get Ryan back narrating them too. Buy this book if you're fond of well researched factual Australian history, served in a more accessible and pleasant ( and memorable) style.

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1 person found this helpful

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A Good Non-Fiction Yarn

I enjoyed this book immensely. I come from one of the towns mentioned in the book and found that part of the story compelling. The readers performance is excellent.

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Busterbaddog

I really enjoyed this book it covers a lot of Australian history and is a fascinating story as well I have read many books on Australian bush rangers and this one is incredibly interesting and informative and covers many other issues of the day as well Very well done and well read

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Well written

Never really knew much about Moonlight, now I do and I’m glad because he was certainly a very interesting character. Well written story and very well read. Recommended.

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Brilliant history of Captain Moonlight

Meticulously researched and beautifully read, this book brings the dying days of the bushranging era alive. I loved it.

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.